Systems and methods for vehicle positioning

ABSTRACT

Various vehicle technologies for improving positioning accuracy despite various factors that affect signals from navigation satellites. Such positioning accuracy is increased via determining an offset and communicating the offset in various ways or via sharing of raw positioning data between a plurality of devices, where at least one knows its location sufficiently accurately, for use in differential algorithms.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility Patent Application is a divisional of U.S.Utility application Ser. No. 16/741,467, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODSFOR CORRECTING THE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION OF A VEHICLE” filed Jan. 13,2020, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/610,785,entitled “TECHNOLOGIES FOR VEHICLE POSITIONING”, filed Jun. 1, 2017, nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,534,092 issued on Jan. 14, 2020, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to vehicle positioning (also known aslocalization), and more specifically relates to methods and systems forimproving accuracy in position assessment.

BACKGROUND

A plurality of navigation satellites broadcast a plurality of signals toa positioning receiver such that the positioning receiver is able todetermine a position thereof, with a certain accuracy, based on thesignals. Some factors, such as satellite geometry, signal blockage,ionospheric perturbation, atmospheric conditions, or others, affect thesignals such that that the accuracy of determining the position of thereceiver is reduced. For example, a smartphone with a positioningreceiver may be able to determine its position to within five meters ofthe smartphone. The accuracy of the position determination may worsenwhen the receiver is in proximity of buildings, bridges, trees, or otherstructures. Although this may be sufficient for some positioningapplications, greater accuracy is desirable for other applications,including autonomous driving. Accordingly, there is a desire to providegreater positioning accuracy despite the factors that affect the signalsfrom the navigation satellites.

SUMMARY

This disclosure discloses one or more inventions that improvepositioning accuracy despite the factors that affect the signals fromthe navigation satellites. The inventions increase such positioningaccuracy via determining and applying offsets (corrections) in variousways, or via sharing of raw positioning data between a plurality ofdevices, where at least one knows its location sufficiently accurately,for use in differential algorithms. For example, some of such techniquescan include (a) a reference station sharing a positional offset with anautomobile, (b) a reference station calculating and sharing a set ofparameters (offsets/corrections) for various error components includingatmospheric, orbital, and clock, and/or (c) a reference station sharingits raw GNSS data so that vehicles can remove errors throughdifferencing, or other calculations. For example, the offset can be apositioning offset, i.e., an actual offset, a correction offset persatellite or per a plurality of satellites, a vehicular offset generatedvia a vehicle processing raw data when the vehicle is not in signalcommunication with a base station, or others.

An embodiment includes a method for extending a range of a referencestation, the method comprising: receiving, via a hardware server, a setof correction data from a first vehicular client positioned within asignal applicability range of a reference station; and sending, via thehardware server, the set of correction data to a second vehicular clientpositioned outside the signal applicability range of the referencestation.

An embodiment includes a system for extending a range of a referencestation, the system comprising: a hardware server configured to: receivea set of correction data from a first vehicular client positioned withina signal applicability range of a reference station; and send the set ofcorrection data to a second vehicular client positioned outside thesignal applicability range of the reference station.

An embodiment includes an apparatus for extending a range of a referencestation, the apparatus comprising a vehicle including a processor and amemory, wherein the processor is in communication with the memory andthe memory stores a set of instructions that when executed via theprocessor cause the processor to: receive a first set of data from areference station; generate a second set of data based on the first setof data; and send the second set of data to a server.

An embodiment includes a method for using a vehicle as a referencestation, the method comprising: receiving, via a hardware server, a setof correction data from a first vehicular client as the first vehicularclient is stationary such that the first vehicular client operates asthe reference station; locating, via the hardware server, a secondvehicular client with respect to the first vehicular client based on afirst value and a second value, the first value corresponding to thesecond vehicular client being in spatial proximity to first vehicularclient and the second value corresponds to the second vehicular clientbeing in temporal proximity to the first vehicular client; and sending,via the hardware server, the set of correction data to the secondvehicular client such that the second vehicular client is able tocorrect a positioning measurement thereof based on the set of correctiondata.

An embodiment includes a system for using a vehicle as a referencestation, the system comprising: a hardware server configured to: receivea set of correction data from a first vehicular client as the firstvehicular client is stationary such that the first vehicular clientoperates as the reference station; locate a second vehicular client withrespect to the first vehicular client based on a first value and asecond value, the first value corresponding to the second vehicularclient being in spatial proximity to first vehicular client, the secondvalue corresponding to the second vehicular client being in temporalproximity to the first vehicular client; and send the set of correctiondata to the second vehicular client such that the second vehicularclient is able to correct a positioning measurement thereof based on theset of correction data.

An embodiment includes an apparatus for using a vehicle as a referencestation, the apparatus comprising a vehicle including a processor and amemory, wherein the processor is in communication with the memory andthe memory stores a threshold and a set of instructions that whenexecuted via the processor cause the processor to: generate a pluralityof positioning measurements over a period of time as the vehicle isstationary such that the vehicle operates as the reference station;determine whether the positioning measurements satisfy the threshold;generate a set of correction data based on the positioning measurements;and send the set of correction data to a server.

An embodiment includes a method for using a set of vehicles as astationary cooperative reference station, the method comprising:receiving, via a hardware server, a first raw positioning measurementfrom a first vehicular client as the first vehicular client isstationary; receiving, via the hardware server, a second raw positioningmeasurement from a second vehicular client as the second vehicularclient is stationary; performing, via the hardware server, anoptimization process based on the first raw positioning measurement andthe second raw positioning measurement; generating, via the hardwareserver, a positioning correction based on the optimization process; andsending, via the hardware server, the correction to a third vehicularclient as the third vehicular client is moving.

An embodiment includes a system for using a set of vehicles as astationary cooperative reference station, the system comprising: ahardware server configured to: receive a first raw positioningmeasurement from a first vehicular client as the first vehicular clientis stationary; receive a second raw positioning measurement from asecond vehicular client as the second vehicular client is stationary;perform an optimization process based on the first raw positioningmeasurement and the second raw positioning measurement; generate apositioning correction based on the optimization process; and send thecorrection to a third vehicular client as the third vehicular client ismoving.

An embodiment includes an apparatus for using a set of vehicles as astationary cooperative reference station, the apparatus comprising: avehicle including a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is incommunication with the memory, wherein the memory stores a threshold anda set of instructions that when executed via the processor cause theprocessor to: generate a plurality of first positioning measurementsover a period of time as the vehicle is stationary; determine whetherthe first positioning measurements satisfy the threshold, generate aplurality of second positioning measurements based on the firstpositioning measurements, wherein the second positioning measurementsare raw; and send the second positioning measurements to a server.

An embodiment includes a method for using a set of vehicles as astationary cooperative reference station, the method comprising:receiving, via a hardware server, a raw positioning measurement from afirst vehicular client as the first vehicular client is stationary;performing, via the hardware server, an atmospheric modeling processbased on the raw positioning measurement; generating, via the hardwareserver, an output from the atmospheric modeling process; and sending,via the hardware server, the output to a second vehicular client as thesecond vehicular client is moving.

An embodiment includes a system for using a set of vehicles as astationary cooperative reference station, the system comprising: ahardware server configured to: receive a raw positioning measurementfrom a first vehicular client as the first vehicular client isstationary; perform an atmospheric modeling process based on the rawpositioning measurement; generate an output from the atmosphericmodeling process; and send the output to a second vehicular client asthe second vehicular client is moving.

An embodiment includes a method for using a set of vehicles as a set ofmoving reference stations for map-relative localization, the methodcomprising: receiving, via a hardware server, a map pose and a rawpositioning measurement from a first vehicular client that is moving andvision-localized to a map; and sending, via the hardware server, the mappose and the raw positioning measurement to a second vehicular clientsuch that (a) the second vehicular client determines a first positionvector relative to the first vehicular client based on the map pose andthe raw positioning measurement, (b) the second vehicular clientreceives a second position vector relative to a third vehicular clientfrom the third vehicular client, and (c) the second vehicular clientupdates a second map pose based on the first position vector and thesecond position vector, wherein the second map pose is of the secondvehicular client.

An embodiment includes a system for using a set of vehicles as a set ofmoving reference stations for map-relative localization, the systemcomprising: a hardware server configured to: receive a map pose and araw positioning measurement from a first vehicular client that is movingand vision-localized to a map; and send the map pose and the rawpositioning measurement to a second vehicular client such that (a) thesecond vehicular client determines a first position vector relative tothe first vehicular client based on the map pose and the raw positioningmeasurement, (b) the second vehicular client receives a second positionvector relative to a third vehicular client from the third vehicularclient, and (c) the second vehicular client updates a second map posebased on the first position vector and the second position vector,wherein the second map pose is of the second vehicular client.

An embodiment includes an apparatus for using a set of vehicles as a setof moving reference stations for map-relative localization, theapparatus comprising: a vehicle including a processor and a memory,wherein the processor is in communication with the memory and the memorystores a set of instructions that when executed via the processor causethe processor to: vision-localize the vehicle to a map; generate a posebased on the map; generate a raw positioning measurement; and send thepose and the raw positioning measurement to a server.

An embodiment includes an apparatus for using a vehicle as a referencestation, the apparatus comprising: a vehicle including a processor, amemory, and a sensor, wherein the processor is in communication with thememory and the sensor, wherein the memory stores a set of instructionsthat when executed via the processor cause the processor to: receive aninput from the sensor; confirm a map-referenced position of the vehiclebased on the input; receive a positioning signal; generate an offsetbased on the map-referenced position and the positioning signal; andsend the offset.

These and other embodiments or aspects of this disclosure are discussedin greater detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle accordingto this disclosure.

FIG. 2a shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for extending arange of a reference station according to this disclosure.

FIG. 2b shows a data flow diagram of an embodiment of a method forextending a range of a reference station according to this disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for using avehicle as a reference station according to this disclosure.

FIG. 4a shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for using a setof vehicles as a stationary cooperative reference station according tothis disclosure.

FIG. 4b shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for using a setof vehicles as a stationary cooperative reference station according tothis disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for using a set ofvehicles as a set of moving reference stations for map-relativelocalization according to this disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for using avehicle as a reference station according to this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally, this disclosure discloses a technology for improvingpositioning accuracy despite the factors (such as satellite geometry,signal blockage, ionospheric perturbation, atmospheric conditions, orothers) that can affect the signals from the navigation satellites. Theinventions increase such positioning accuracy via determining an offsetand communicating the offset in various ways, or via sharing of rawpositioning data between a plurality of devices, where at least oneknows its location sufficiently accurately, for use in differentialalgorithms. For example, some of such techniques can include (a) areference station calculating and sharing a set of parameters forvarious error components including atmospheric, orbital, and clock, or(b) a reference station sharing its raw GNSS data so that vehicles canremove errors through differencing, or others. For example, the offsetcan be a positioning offset, i.e., an actual offset, a correction offsetper satellite or per a plurality of satellites, a vehicular offsetgenerated via a vehicle processing raw data when the vehicle is not insignal communication with a base station, or others. Note that a set ofraw positioning data can include an alphanumeric value corresponding toat least one of a longitude, a latitude, an altitude, a differentialpositioning technique measurements, such as a carrier phase of anelectromagnetic wave emanating from a positioning satellite, as measuredby a transceiver, a Doppler shift of an electromagnetic carrier waveemanating from a positioning satellite, as experienced by a transceiver,a pseudo range measurement describing a distance between an antenna anda positioning satellite, a ratio of a carrier wave power to anelectromagnetic noise power experienced by a transceiver, or others, asknown to skilled artisans.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle accordingto this disclosure. A system 100 includes a vehicle 102, a vehicle 120,a satellite 126, a network 118, a server 114, and a reference station116.

The network 118 can include a plurality of nodes, such as a collectionof computers or other hardware interconnected via a plurality ofcommunication channels, which allow for sharing of resources orinformation. Such interconnection can be direct or indirect. The network118 can be wired, waveguide, or wireless. The network 118 can allow forcommunication over short or long distances, whether encrypted orunencrypted. The network 118 can operate via at least one networkprotocol, such as Ethernet, a Transmission Control Protocol(TCP)/Internet Protocol (IP), or others. The network 118 can have anyscale, such as a personal area network (PAN), a local area network(LAN), a home area network, a storage area network (SAN), a campus areanetwork, a backbone network, a metropolitan area network, a wide areanetwork (WAN), an enterprise private network, a virtual private network,a virtual network, a satellite network, a computer cloud network, aninternetwork, a cellular network, or others. The network 118 can be orinclude an intranet or an extranet. The network 118 can be or includeInternet. The network 118 can include other networks or allow forcommunication with other networks, whether sub-networks or distinctnetworks, whether identical or different from the network 118 instructure or operation. The network 118 can include hardware, such as acomputer, a network interface card, a repeater, a hub, a bridge, aswitch, an extender, an antenna, or a firewall, whether hardware basedor software based. The network 118 can be operated, directly orindirectly, by or on behalf of one or more entities or actors,irrespective of any relation to contents of this disclosure. In someembodiments, although the network 118 between the vehicle 102, thevehicle 120, and the server 114 can be wired, the network 118 can usedifferent type of wireless technologies, such as WiFi, cellular, V2X, orothers.

The satellite 126 is a component of a global navigation satellite system(GNSS) that uses a plurality of satellites, such as at least twosatellites, such as four or more satellites, to provide autonomousgeo-spatial positioning. Some examples of such system include a GlobalPositioning System (GPS), a Global Navigation Satellite System(GLONASS), a Galileo system, or others.

Each of the vehicle 102 and the vehicle 120 can be a land vehicle,whether manned or unmanned, whether non-autonomous, semi-autonomous, orfully autonomous, such as a car/automobile, a sports utility vehicle(SUV), a van, a minivan, a limousine, a bus, a truck, a trailer, a tank,a tractor, a motorcycle, a bicycle, a heavy equipment vehicle, orothers. For example, at least one of the vehicle 102 or the vehicle 120can be a Tesla Corporation Model S (or any other Tesla Corporationmodel) equipped with Tesla Autopilot (enhanced Autopilot) driver assistfunctionality and having a Hardware 2 component set (November 2016).

Each of the vehicle 102 and the vehicle 120 includes a chassis, a powersource, a drive source, a set of wheels, a processor 104, a memory 106,a transceiver 108 a, a transceiver 108 b, an antenna 110 a, an antenna110 b, and a camera 112.

The chassis securely hosts the power source, the drive source, and theset of wheels. The power source includes a battery, which isrechargeable. The drive source includes an electric motor, whetherbrushed or brushless. However, an internal combustion engine ispossible, in which case the power source includes a fuel tank hosted viathe chassis and coupled to the internal combustion engine. The powersource is coupled to the drive source such that the drive source ispowered thereby. The set of wheels includes at least one wheel, whichmay include an inflatable tire, which may include a run-flat tire. Theset of wheels is driven via the drive source.

The processor 104 is a hardware processor, such as a single core or amulticore processor. For example, the processor 104 comprises a centralprocessing unit (CPU), which can comprise a plurality of cores forparallel/concurrent independent processing. In some embodiments, theprocessor 104 includes a graphics processing unit (GPU). The processor104 is powered via the power source and is coupled to the chassis. Insome embodiments, the processor 104 can include a tensor processing unit(TPU), which may include an application-specific-integrated circuit(ASIC).

The memory 106 is in communication with the processor 104, such as inany known wired, wireless, or waveguide manner. The memory 106 comprisesa computer-readable storage medium, which can be non-transitory. Thestorage medium stores a plurality of computer-readable instructions forexecution via the processor 104. The instructions instruct the processor104 to facilitate performance of a method for improving positioningaccuracy via determining an offset and communicating the offset invarious ways, as disclosed herein. For example, the instructions caninclude an operating system of the vehicle or an application to run onthe operating system of the vehicle. For example, the processor 104 andthe memory 106 can enable various file or data input/output operations,whether synchronous or asynchronous, including any of the following:reading, writing, editing, modifying, deleting, updating, searching,selecting, merging, sorting, encrypting, de-duplicating, or others. Thememory 106 can comprise at least one of a volatile memory unit, such asrandom access memory (RAM) unit, or a non-volatile memory unit, such asan electrically addressed memory unit or a mechanically addressed memoryunit. For example, the electrically addressed memory can comprise aflash memory unit. For example, the mechanically addressed memory unitcan comprise a hard disk drive. The memory 106 can comprise a storagemedium, such as at least one of a data repository, a data mart, or adata store. For example, the storage medium can comprise a database,including distributed, such as a relational database, a non-relationaldatabase, an in-memory database, or other suitable databases, which canstore data and allow access to such data via a storage controller,whether directly and/or indirectly, whether in a raw state, a formattedstate, an organized stated, or any other accessible state. The memory106 can comprise any type of storage, such as a primary storage, asecondary storage, a tertiary storage, an off-line storage, a volatilestorage, a non-volatile storage, a semiconductor storage, a magneticstorage, an optical storage, a flash storage, a hard disk drive storage,a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape, or other suitable data storagemedium. The memory 106 is powered via the power source and is coupled tothe chassis.

Each of the transceivers 108 a and 108 b is in communication with theprocessor 104, such as in any known wired, wireless, or waveguidemanner. Each of the transceivers 108 a and 108 b includes a transmitterand a receiver. The transmitter and the receiver are operablyinterconnected and may be housed in a single housing, althoughdistribution among a plurality of housings in any combinatory manner ispossible. Although each of the transceivers 108 a and 108 b isconfigured for electromagnetic energy, such as radio, otherconfigurations are possible, such as for use with optical energy, suchas light, sound energy, such as sound, or any other form of energy. Eachof the transceivers 108 a and 108 b is powered via the power source andis coupled to the chassis. In some embodiments, the vehicle 102 and thevehicle 120 can communicate with each other, such as via thetransceivers 108 a, whether directly or indirectly. For example, suchcommunication can be over a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network.

Each of the transceivers 108 a is in communication with an antenna 110a. Each of the transceivers 108 b is in communication with an antenna110 b. Each of the antenna 110 a and the antenna 110 b may be anomnidirectional or directional antenna. Note that the transceiver 108 aand the antenna 110 a are functionally different from the transceiver110 b and the antenna 110 b, respectively. In particular, thetransceiver 110 b and the antenna 110 b are configured for receivingpositioning signals and data from GNSS systems, such as the satellite(s)126, whereas the transceiver 108 a and the antenna 110 a are configuredfor communicating data over networks other than the GNSS systems, suchas terrestrial networks, such as cellular networks, Wi-Fi networks, V2Vnetworks, or others, and thereby use frequencies, modulation andencoding techniques, and protocols different from each other. Forexample, at least one of the antenna 110 a or the antenna 110 b can bean monopole antenna, a dipole antenna, an array antenna, a loop antenna,an aperture antenna, a traveling wave antenna, or others. Thetransceiver 108 a is in communication with the network 118 via theantenna 110 a, such as via a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. Thetransceiver 108 b is in communication with the satellite 126 via theantenna 110 b, such as via a GPS unit. In some embodiments, thetransceiver 108 b can house the antenna 110 b, as a unit.

The camera 112 is in communication with the processor 104, such as inany known wired, wireless, or waveguide manner. The camera 112 caninclude a plurality of cameras 112. The camera 112 includes an imagecapture device or optical instrument for capturing or recording images,which may be stored locally, whether temporarily or permanently,transmitted to another location, or both. The camera 112 may captureimages to enable the processor 104 to perform various image processingtechniques, such as compression, image and video analysis, telemetry, orothers. For example, image and video analysis can comprise objectrecognition, object tracking, any known computer vision or machinevision analytics, or other analysis. For example, the camera 112 candetect a geometry of a boundary of a lane, as known to skilled artisans,on which the vehicle 102 or the vehicle 120 is travelling. Thisfunctionality has a beneficial utility because such detection can beused in a vision-map matching localization approach, as disclosedherein, where a location estimate is varied until the location estimatemakes a camera-reported lane boundary coincide with a map-reported laneboundaries. The images may be individual still photographs or sequencesof images constituting videos. The camera 112 can comprise an imagesensor, such as a semiconductor charge-coupled device (CCD) or an activepixel sensor in a complementary metal—oxide—semiconductor (CMOS) or anN-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS), and a lens, such a rectilinearlens, a concave lens, a convex lens, a wide-angle lens, a fish-eye lens,or any other lens. The camera 112 can be analog or digital. The camera112 can comprise any focal length, such as wide angle or standard. Thecamera 112 can comprise a flash illumination output device. The camera112 can comprise an infrared illumination output device. The camera 112is powered via the power source and coupled to the chassis.

The server 114 includes a computer apparatus containing a processor, amemory, and a networking unit. The processor can include a hardwareprocessor, such as a single core or a multicore processor. For example,the processor comprises a CPU, which can comprise a plurality of coresfor parallel/concurrent independent processing. In some embodiments, theprocessor includes a GPU. For example, the server 114 can include anetwork server.

The memory is in communication with the processor, such as in any knownwired, wireless, or waveguide manner. The memory comprises acomputer-readable storage medium, which can be non-transitory. Thestorage medium stores a plurality of computer-readable instructions forexecution via the processor. The instructions instruct the processor tofacilitate performance of a method for improving positioning accuracyvia determining and applying corrections in various ways or via sharingof raw positioning data between a plurality of devices, where at leastone knows its location sufficiently accurately, for use in differentialalgorithms, as disclosed herein. For example, the processor and thememory can enable various file or data input/output operations, whethersynchronous or asynchronous, including any of the following: reading,writing, editing, modifying, deleting, updating, searching, selecting,merging, sorting, encrypting, de-duplicating, or others. The memory cancomprise at least one of a volatile memory unit, such as random accessmemory (RAM) unit, or a non-volatile memory unit, such as anelectrically addressed memory unit or a mechanically addressed memoryunit. For example, the electrically addressed memory can comprise aflash memory unit. For example, the mechanically addressed memory unitcan comprise a hard disk drive. The memory can comprise a storagemedium, such as at least one of a data repository, a data mart, or adata store. For example, the storage medium can comprise a database,including distributed, such as a relational database, a non-relationaldatabase, an in-memory database, or other suitable databases, which canstore data and allow access to such data via a storage controller,whether directly and/or indirectly, whether in a raw state, a formattedstate, an organized stated, or any other accessible state. The memorycan comprise any type of storage, such as a primary storage, a secondarystorage, a tertiary storage, an off-line storage, a volatile storage, anon-volatile storage, a semiconductor storage, a magnetic storage, anoptical storage, a flash storage, a hard disk drive storage, a floppydisk drive, a magnetic tape, or other suitable data storage medium. Assuch, via the processor and the memory, the server 114 runs an operatingsystem, such as MacOS, Windows, or others, and an application on theoperating system.

The networking unit comprises a network interface controller for networkcommunication with the network 118, whether wired, waveguide, orwireless. For example, the networking unit comprises a hardware unit forcomputer networking communication based on at least one standardselected from a set of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) 802 standards, such as an IEEE 802.11 standard. For instance, thenetworking unit comprises a wireless network card operative according toa IEEE 802.11(g) standard. The networking unit is in communication withthe processor, such as in any known wired, wireless, or waveguidemanner.

The reference station 116 is ground-based, mounted at a knowngeolocation point assigned to the reference station 116, and isstationary. For example, the reference station can include a powersource, a processor, a memory, a plurality of transceivers, a pluralityof antennas, a camera, or other input or output devices, as powered viathe power source and controlled via the processor, as disclosed herein.In some embodiments, the reference station 116 is virtual, sea-based,air-based, or mobile, such as relative Real Time Kinematic (RTK). Thereference station 116 is in communication with the network 118, whetherin a wired, waveguide, or wireless manner. The reference station 116 isalso in wireless or waveguide communication with the satellite 126 andthereby enables differential correction. For example, the referencestation 116 is mounted at a known geolocation point and continuallycollects GNSS data from the satellite 126. The satellite 126 may informthe reference station 116 that the reference station 116 is at adifferent location than where the reference station 116 knows thereference station 116 actually is. If reference station 116 knows thatthe reference station 116 is at the known geolocation, but the satellite126 is informing the reference station 116 that the reference station116 is a certain distance away from the known geolocation, then thereference station 116 can determine that at that time of day, in thatknown geolocation, there is an offset or error corresponding to thecertain distance in the GNSS data from the satellite 126. As such, thereference station 116 can communicate that offset or error to any roverdevices receiving data from the reference station 116. However, notethat other techniques, whether additionally or alternatively, arepossible. For example, some of such techniques can include variousapproaches where (1) the reference station 116 calculates and shares aset of parameters for various error components, including atmospheric,orbital, and clock, or (2) the reference station 116 shares its rawpositioning data, such as GNSS data, such as GPS data, with the vehicle102 or the vehicle 120 so that the vehicle 102 or the vehicle 120 canremove errors through differencing.

In some embodiments, at least one of the vehicle 102 or the vehicle 120can include an ultrasonic sensor in communication with the processor104, powered via the power source, and coupled to the chassis. Theultrasonic sensor is a transducer which converts an electrical signal toan ultrasound wave for output, such as via a transmitter or atransceiver, and which converts a reflected ultrasound wave into anelectrical signal for input, such as via a receiver or a transceiver.The ultrasonic sensor evaluates an attribute of a target viainterpreting a sound echo from the sound wave reflected from the target.Such interpretation may include measuring a time interval betweensending the sound wave and receiving the echo to determine a distance tothe target. The ultrasonic sensor is preferably powered via the powersource and coupled to the chassis. The ultrasonic sensor can be used indetecting an objects in the proximity of at least one of the vehicle 102or the vehicle 120.

In some embodiments, at least one of the vehicle 102 or the vehicle 120can include a radar in communication with the processor 104, powered viathe power source, and coupled to the chassis. The radar includes atransmitter producing an electromagnetic wave such as in a radio ormicrowave spectrum, a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna, areceiver, and a processor (which may be the same as the processor 104)to determine a property of a target. The same antenna may be used fortransmitting and receiving as is common in this art. The transmitterantenna radiates a radio wave (pulsed or continuous) from thetransmitter to reflect off the target and return to the receiver via thereceiving antenna, giving information to the processor about thetarget's location, speed, angle, and other characteristics. Theprocessor may be programmed to apply digital signal processing (DSP),machine learning and other relevant techniques, such as via using codestored in the memory 106, that are capable of extracting usefulinformation from various noise levels. In some embodiments, the radarincludes a lidar, which employs ultraviolet, visible, or near infraredlight from lasers in addition to, or as an alternative to, the radiowave. The lidar can be used in detecting objects in the proximity of atleast one of the vehicle 102 or the vehicle 120.

In one mode of operation, the vehicle 102 is positioned within a signalapplicability range of the reference station 116, such as within thirtymiles, and receives a first set of data from the reference station 116,where the reference station 116 generates the first set of data based onthe reference station 116 communicating with the satellite 126. Notethat this is appropriate in a situation where as a separation between areference data user and a reference station location increases, anapplicability of error estimates decreases due to a difference inrespective conditions. The vehicle 102 generates a second set of databased on the first set of data and sends the second set of data to theserver 114. Also note that that the vehicle 102, by being sufficientlyclose to the reference station 116, is able to calculate its positionsufficiently accurately, and then when the vehicle 102 generates thesecond set of data, that second set of data benefits from this accuracy,and thus when the vehicle 120 receives that second set of data, thevehicle 120 also benefits by being able to use that second set of datato calculate its own position more accurately. The server 114 receivesthe second set of data from the vehicle 102 and sends the second set ofdata to the vehicle 120, which is positioned outside the signalapplicability range of the reference station 116.

FIG. 2a shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for extending arange of a reference station according to this disclosure. A method 200a includes a plurality of blocks 202-210, which are performed via thesystem 100.

In the block 202, a first vehicle, such as the vehicle 102, confirms,such as via the processor 104, that the first vehicle is in a signalrange, such as within fifty miles, of a reference station, such as thereference station 116. Such confirmation may occur based on the firstvehicle receiving a correction signal from the reference station, suchas over the network 118, or based on the first vehicle being positionedin an area known to the first vehicle, such as via the transceiver 108 bcommunication with the satellite 126, to be within the signal range ofthe reference station 116. For example, the first vehicle may confirmthat a data correction solution, such as a real-time RTK data channel,is available to the first vehicle from the reference station 116.

In the block 204, the first vehicle receives a first set of correctiondata from the reference station, such as when the first vehicle is inthe signal range of the reference station. This receipt may be wired,waveguide, or wireless, such as via the transceiver 108 a. Note that thefirst vehicle is in positioning signal communication with the satellite126, such as via the transceiver 108 b.

In the block 206, the first vehicle generates, such as via the processor104, a second set of correction data based on the first set ofcorrection data. Such generation can include copying the first set ofcorrection data to form the second set of correction data or analyzingthe first set of correction data based on a set of positioning data sentfrom the satellite 126 to the transceiver 108 b in order to locallydetermine the second set of correction data, which may augment the firstset of correction data. For example, such determination can occur via adata correction logic, whether hardware or software, such as an RTKmodule, as known to skilled artisans, hosted via the first vehicle.

In the block 208, the first vehicle sends, such as via the transceiver108 a, the second set of correction data to a server, such as the server114. Such sending may be wired, waveguide, or wireless, such as over thenetwork 118.

In the block 210, the server 114 sends the second set of correction datato a second vehicle, such as the vehicle 120, which is positioned not inthe signal range of the reference station, such as being outside of thesignal range. Such sending can include broadcasting and can be over thenetwork 118. For example, the first vehicle can forward the first set ofdata to the second vehicle out of range from the reference station, withthe server used to implement this forwarding action. In this sense, thefirst set of data is repeated to the second vehicle that is out of rangeand cannot receive the first set of data directly. As such, a use rangeof the reference station is extended.

FIG. 2b shows a data flow diagram of a method for extending a range of areference station according to this disclosure. A data flow diagram 200b depicts the vehicle 102 hosting a GNSS module and an inertialmeasurement unit (IMU) module as a single unit 122, although thisconfiguration can vary such the based on the GNSS module and the IMUmodel being housed separately in different units.

The GNSS module, which can be hardware and/or software, is configured toreceive data from the reference station 116, such as the first set ofcorrection data, and from the satellite 126, such as the set ofpositioning data, as described in the blocks 202-204 of FIG. 2a . TheIMU module, which can be hardware and/or software, is configured tomeasure and output a specific force and an angular rate of the vehicle102. In hardware form, the IMU module can include an accelerometer, agyroscope, and a magnetometer. The IMU module can enhance operation ofthe GNSS module, such as when the transceiver 108 b is in communicationwith the satellite 126 when the vehicle 102 is not in line of sight ofthe satellite 126, such as in a tunnels, indoor garage, when electronicinterference is present, or other scenarios, such as via a deadreckoning technique.

The vehicle 102 also hosts a data correction module 124, which can behardware and/or software. The unit 122 sends the first set of correctiondata to the module 124. The module 124, such as an RTK module, analyzesthe first set of data and the set of positioning data and then generatesthe second set of data, as described in the block 206 of FIG. 2a . Insome embodiments, the data from the reference station 116 can beprocessed via the data correction module 124, whether additional to oralternative from the module 122. Such generation can include analyzingthe first set of correction data based on the set of positioning dataand then determining the second set of correction data via the datacorrection logic, as locally hosted, whether hardware or software or acombination of hardware and software. The data correction module 124sends the second set of correction data to the server 118, which thesends, such as via broadcasting, the second set of correction data tothe second vehicle, as described in the blocks 208-210 of FIG. 2a . Assuch, a use range of the reference station is extended.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for using avehicle as a reference station according to this disclosure. A method300 includes a plurality of blocks 302-318, which are performed via thesystem 100.

In the block 302, a first vehicle, such as the vehicle 102, determines,such as via the processor 104, if the first vehicle is moving. Suchdetermination can occur mechanically, electrically, or digitally. Forexample, mechanically, such determination can be based on the firstvehicle having a transmission set to a park mode, or having an ignitionkey disengaged therefrom, or having a park brake activated, or having awheel not rotating, or a drive axle not rotating, or any othermechanical way. Likewise, electrically, such determination can be basedon a circuit of the first vehicle being open, where the circuit beingclosed relates to the first vehicle being not stationary or vice versa.For example, the circuit can be included in an electric motor of thefirst vehicle, an internal combustion engine of the first vehicle, abraking system of the first vehicle, a steering system of the firstvehicle, an airbag system of the first vehicle, or any other system ofthe first vehicle having the circuit. Similarly, digitally, suchdetermination can be based on a software component, such as a module, anobject, a library, an application, an operating system, or others,running on the processor 104 such that the processor 104 can determinevia request/response computing or polling a set of components of thefirst vehicle, whether hardware or software, that the first vehicle isnot moving. Regardless, if the first vehicle is moving, then the block304 is performed. Otherwise, if the first vehicle is not moving, thenthe block 306 is performed.

In the block 304, the first vehicle requests, such as via the processor104, a set of correction data from a data source, such as the server 114over the network 118 via the transceiver 108 a, the reference station116 over the network 118 via the transceiver 108 a, or others.

In the block 306, the first vehicle estimates/accumulates, such as viathe processor 104, a plurality of positioning measurements for the firstvehicle over a time period. For example, the module 122 of FIG. 2b canfacilitate this estimation/accumulation. Such estimation/accumulationcan include the first vehicle generating a plurality of positioningmeasurements, which may include averaging the positioning measurements,over the period of time as the first vehicle is stationary, sincepositioning variance may be low, such as via a sigma methodology. Thepositioning measurements can be based on the first vehicle communicatingvia the transceiver 108 a with the reference station 116 over thenetwork 118 and via the transceiver 108 b with the satellite 126. Theperiod of time can be any time period. For example, the time period canbe less than one day, less than twelve hours, less than six hours, lessthan three hours, less than one hour, less than thirty minutes, lessthan fifteen minutes, less than five minutes, or any other time period,inclusively. Note that longer time periods lead to more accuratepositioning measurements or estimates. In some embodiments, theaveraging is at least two minutes, as context appropriate.

In the block 308, the first vehicle determines, such as via theprocessor 104, whether an accurate location has been determined. Forexample, the module 124 of FIG. 2b can facilitate this determination.Such determination can allow the first vehicle to function as thereference station 116 and can include the first vehicle determiningwhether the positioning measurements, which may be averaged as a singlevalue, such as an alphanumeric value stored in the memory 104 of thevehicle 102, satisfy a threshold, such as an alphanumeric value storedin the memory 104 of the vehicle 102. If the threshold is satisfied,whether above or below the threshold, then a set of location coordinatescorresponding to the accurate location may be stored in the firstvehicle, such as a set of alphanumeric values stored in the memory 104.Note that the threshold can be preset in advance, such as viaprogramming or downloading from a remote data source, or can bedetermined dynamically, such as on-the-fly based on a set of criteriaset in advance, such as via programming or downloading from a remotedata source. If the accurate location has not been determined, then theblock 306 is performed. Otherwise, if the accurate location has beendetermined, then the block 310 is performed.

In the block 310, the first vehicle determines, such as via theprocessor 104, a positioning correction based on the first vehicle basedon the accurate location thereof. However, note that the positioningcorrection can be for any vehicle within a certain range, which may bepredetermined in advance. For example, the module 124 of FIG. 2b canfacilitate this determination. This determination may accommodate for anionospheric impact to signals sent from the satellite 126 to the firstvehicle.

In the block 312, the first vehicle sends, such as via the transceiver108 a, the positioning correction to a server, such as the server 114.Such sending may be wired, waveguide, or wireless, such as over thenetwork 118. Note that the positioning correction may also include or besupplemented with a set of raw GNSS data, such as a set of raw GPS data,as obtained via the first vehicle, in order to allow for an effectiveaccuracy determination.

In the block 314, the server locates, such as in a cellular manner oranother manner as known to skilled artisans, a second vehicle, such asthe vehicle 120, having a spatially and temporally correlated positionto the first vehicle. For example, the server may locate based ondiscriminating a set of vehicles based on a factor, as preset inadvance, such as via programming or downloading from a remote datasource, or dynamically updated, such as on-the-fly, based on a set ofcriteria, as preset in advance, such as via programming or downloadingfrom a remote data source. Such locating can include receiving thepositioning correction, such as a set of correction data, from the firstvehicle, as the first vehicle is stationary, and receiving a set oflocation data from the second vehicle, such as from the transceiver 108a over the network 118, where the set of location data is informative ofa spatial and temporal position of the second vehicle at that time. Theset of locating data can be formed based on the second vehiclecommunicating with the reference station 116, such as via thetransceiver 108 a, and with the satellite 126, such as via thetransceiver 108 b. Accordingly, the set of locating data can be used togenerate a first value, such as an alphanumeric value, and a secondvalue, such as an alphanumeric value, where the first value is a spatialvalue and the second value is a temporal value, and where the firstvalue and the second value define a correlation dataset based on whichthe server locates the second vehicle with the spatially and temporallycorrelated position to the first vehicle. The first value is analyzedwith the positioning correction to determine if the second vehicle is inspatial proximity to first vehicle. The second value is analyzed withthe positioning correction to determine if the second vehicle is intemporal proximity to the first vehicle.

In the block 316, the server sends, such as via the networking unit overthe network 118, a data correction to the second vehicle, with thesecond vehicle being spatially and temporally correlated to the firstvehicle. The data correction includes the positioning correction.

In the block 318, the second vehicle, which is spatially and temporallycorrelated to the first vehicle, corrects, such as via the processor104, its positioning measurement based on the data correction, asreceived from the server, such as via the transceiver 108 a. Suchcorrecting can include the second vehicle communicating with thereference station 116, such as via transceiver 108 a, and with thesatellite 126, such as via the transceiver 108 b, and determining aposition dataset based on such communication. Then, the second vehiclemodifies the position dataset based on the data correction toaccommodate for the data correction, such as via an RTK technique.

FIG. 4a shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for using a setof vehicles as a stationary cooperative reference station according tothis disclosure. A method 400 a includes a plurality of blocks 402 a-414a, which are performed via the system 100.

In the block 402 a, a first vehicle, such as the vehicle 102,determines, such as via the processor 104, if the first vehicle ismoving. Such determination can occur mechanically, electrically, ordigitally. For example, mechanically, such determination can be based onthe first vehicle having a transmission set to a park mode, or having anignition key disengaged therefrom, or having a park brake activated, orhaving a wheel not rotating, or a drive axle not rotating, or any othermechanical way. Likewise, electrically, such determination can be basedon a circuit of the first vehicle being open, where the circuit beingclosed relates to the first vehicle being not stationary or vice versa.For example, the circuit can be included in an electric motor of thefirst vehicle, an internal combustion engine of the first vehicle, abraking system of the first vehicle, a steering system of the firstvehicle, an airbag system of the first vehicle, or any other system ofthe first vehicle having the circuit. Similarly, digitally, suchdetermination can be based on a software component, such as a module, anobject, a library, an application, an operating system, or others,running on the processor 104 such that the processor 104 can determinevia request/response computing or polling a set of components of thefirst vehicle, whether hardware or software or both, that the firstvehicle is not moving. Regardless, if the first vehicle is moving, thenthe block 414 a is performed. Otherwise, if the first vehicle is notmoving, then the block 404 a is performed.

In the block 404 a, the first vehicle estimates/accumulates, such as viathe processor 104, a plurality of positioning measurements for the firstvehicle over a time period. For example, the module 122 of FIG. 2b canfacilitate this estimation/accumulation. Such estimation/accumulationcan include the first vehicle generating a plurality of positioningmeasurements, which may include averaging the positioning measurements,over the period of time as the first vehicle is stationary, sincepositioning variance may be low, such as via a sigma methodology. Forexample, averaging the positioning measurements can be over such aperiod of time that an uncertainty of a position of the vehicle 102 isacceptable, possibly evidenced by a position variance dropping below athreshold, which may be statically or dynamically determined. Thepositioning measurements can be based on the first vehicle communicatingvia the transceiver 108 a with the reference station 116 over thenetwork 118 and via the transceiver 108 b with the satellite 126. Theperiod of time can be any time period. For example, the time period canbe less than one day, less than twelve hours, less than six hours, lessthan three hours, less than one hour, less than thirty minutes, lessthan fifteen minutes, less than five minutes, or any other time period,inclusively. Note that longer time periods lead to more accuratepositioning measurements or estimates. In some embodiments, theaveraging is at least two minutes, as context appropriate.

In the block 406 a, the first vehicle determines, such as via theprocessor 104, whether an accurate location has been determined. Forexample, the module 124 of FIG. 2b can facilitate this determination.Such determination can allow the first vehicle to function as thereference station 116 and can include the first vehicle determiningwhether the positioning measurements, which may be averaged as a singlevalue, such as an alphanumeric value stored in the memory 104 of thevehicle 102, satisfy a threshold, such as an alphanumeric value storedin the memory 104 of the vehicle 102. If the threshold is satisfied,whether above or below the threshold, then a set of location coordinatescorresponding to the accurate location may be stored in the firstvehicle, such as a set of alphanumeric values stored in the memory 104.Note that the threshold can be preset in advance, such as viaprogramming or downloading from a remote data source, or can bedetermined dynamically, such as on-the-fly based on a set of criteriaset in advance, such as via programming or downloading from a remotedata source. If the accurate location has not been determined, then theblock 404 a is performed. Otherwise, if the accurate location has beendetermined, then the block 408 a is performed.

In the block 408 a, the first vehicle reports, such as via thetransceiver 108 a, a raw positioning measurement to a server, such asthe server 114. For example, the module 124 of FIG. 2b can facilitatethis reporting. Such reporting can include generating, which may includeaveraging the positioning measurements, a raw positioning measurementcorresponding to the accurate location, such as via the processor 104and then sending the raw positioning measurement to the server. Forexample, the raw positioning measurement can include a set ofalphanumeric values containing a longitude and a latitude of theaccurate location, and potentially an altitude. Additionally oralternatively, the raw positioning measurement can include variousmeasurements for an RTK technique, such as a carrier phase of anelectromagnetic wave emanating from the satellite 126, as measured bythe transceiver 108 b, a Doppler shift of an electromagnetic carrierwave emanating from the satellite 126, as experienced by the transceiver108 b, a pseudo range measurement describing a distance between theantenna 110 b and the satellite 126, a ratio of a carrier wave power toan electromagnetic noise power experienced by the transceiver 108 b, orothers, as known to skilled artisans. As such, any of such measurementscan be reported via the first vehicle to the server. The generating mayinclude a use of an RTK technique, as known to skilled artisans. Thereporting can include sending via a wired, waveguide, or wirelessmanner, such as over the network 118. As such, the server receives afirst raw positioning measurement from the first vehicle as the firstvehicle is stationary

In the block 410 a, the server runs, whether in a local or distributedmanner, an optimization process based on a plurality of datasetsreceived from or corresponding to a plurality of static, such asnon-moving, vehicles, including the first vehicle. For example, thedatasets can be received over the network 118 and involve receiving asecond raw positioning measurement from the second vehicle as the secondvehicle is stationary. The optimization process can include or be basedon a network RTK technique or augmented RTK technique, as known toskilled artisans, and involve the first raw positioning measurement andthe second raw positioning measurement. For example, the optimizationprocess can optimize for a variable based on multiple reference pointsthat best fit a joint set of measurements, such as via curve fitting orany other manner known to skilled artisans, and determine a deviationtherefrom, which may enable a determination of a positioning correction.As such, the server is enabled to fuse data sourced from multiplevehicles, such as the vehicle 102, communicating with multiple referencestations, such as the reference station 116, where such fusion enables adetermination of a set of correction data.

In the block 412 a, the server sends a plurality of positioningcorrections to a plurality of non-static, such as moving, vehicles, suchas the vehicle 120 or another vehicle, such as a third vehicle that ismoving. The sending can include sending via a wired, waveguide, orwireless manner, such as over the network 118. The positioningcorrections can be identical to or different from each other in contentor format. The server generates or sources the positioning correctionsbased on the optimization technique, as per the block 410 a. The serveris aware of the vehicles being non-static based on the vehiclescommunicating with the server, such as via the transceiver 108 a overthe network 118, or via excluding the static cars from the block 410 a,or as per the block 314 of FIG. 3.

In the block 414 a, the first vehicle that moves takes an action of anytype. For example, the first vehicle may determine, such as via theprocessor 104, a positioning correction for the first vehicle, such asvia an RTK technique, as known to skilled artisans. For example, theaction can include the vehicle consuming corrections data to improve itspositioning accuracy, such as via receiving data and processing the datato improve its positioning accuracy, as disclosed herein. For example,the module 124 of FIG. 2b can facilitate this determination.Alternatively, the first vehicle may act as per the block 318 of FIG. 3.Alternatively, the first vehicle requests, such as via the processor104, a set of correction data from a data source, such as the server 114over the network 118 via the transceiver 108 a, the reference station116 over the network 118 via the transceiver 108 a, or others.

FIG. 4b shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for using a setof vehicles as a stationary cooperative reference station according tothis disclosure. A method 400 b includes a plurality of blocks 402 b-414b, which are performed via the system 100. Also, note that the exceptfor the blocks 410 b-412 b, the processor 400 a is similar to theprocess 400 b. As such, only the blocks 410 b-412 b are described.

In the block 410 b, the server runs, whether in a local or distributedmanner, an atmospheric modeling process that generates an output basedon a plurality of datasets received from or corresponding to a pluralityof static, such as non-moving, vehicles, including the first vehicle.For example, the datasets can be received over the network 118 andinvolve receiving a second raw positioning measurement from the secondvehicle as the second vehicle is stationary. For example, theatmospheric modeling process can entail modeling a temporal variation ofan ionosphere in a network RTK environment or GPS ionospheric errorcorrection models or an ionospheric time-delay algorithm for singlefrequency GPS users, as known to skilled artisans. For example, theatmospheric modeling process can involve the first raw positioningmeasurement and the second raw positioning measurement. As such, theserver is enabled to fuse data sourced from multiple vehicles, such asthe vehicle 102, communicating with multiple reference stations, such asthe reference station 116, where such fusion enables a determination ofa set of correction data, while accommodating for atmospheric conditionsthat may affect signal propagation from the satellite 126. Note that anyatmospheric model, as known to skilled artisans, may be used, such astropospheric, ionospheric, or others. Further, note that due toatmospheric conditions being fluid, the atmospheric modeling process maybe periodically refreshed or updated to accommodate for such fluidity,such as less than twelve hours, inclusively.

In the block 412 b, the server sends the output, which may include aplurality of positioning corrections, to a plurality of non-static, suchas moving, vehicles, such as the vehicle 120 or another vehicle, such asa third vehicle that is moving. The sending can include sending via awired, waveguide, or wireless manner, such as over the network 118. Forexample, the positioning corrections can be identical to or differentfrom each other in content or format. The server generates or sourcesthe positioning corrections based on the atmospheric modeling process,as per the block 410 b. The server is aware of the vehicles beingnon-static based on the vehicles communicating with the server, such asvia the transceiver 108 a over the network 118, or via excluding thestatic cars from the block 410 b, or as per the block 314 of FIG. 3.

In the block 414 b, the first vehicle that moves takes an action of anytype. For example, the first vehicle may determine, such as via theprocessor 104, a positioning correction for the first vehicle, such asvia an RTK technique, as known to skilled artisans. For example, theaction can include the vehicle consuming corrections data to improve itspositioning accuracy, such as via receiving data and processing the datato improve its positioning accuracy, as disclosed herein. For example,the module 124 of FIG. 2b can facilitate this determination.Alternatively, the first vehicle may act as per the block 318 of FIG. 3.Alternatively, the first vehicle requests, such as via the processor104, a set of correction data from a data source, such as the server 114over the network 118 via the transceiver 108 a, the reference station116 over the network 118 via the transceiver 108 a, or others.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for using a set ofvehicles as a set of moving reference stations for map-relativelocalization according to this disclosure. A method 500 includes aplurality of blocks 502-514, which are performed via the system 100.

In the block 502, which is optional, a first vehicle, such as thevehicle 102, confirms, such as via the processor 104, that the firstvehicle is moving. However, note that the confirmation might reverse,i.e., the first vehicle is stationary, as disclosed herein. Suchconfirmation may occur mechanically, electrically, or digitally. Forexample, mechanically, such determination can be based on the firstvehicle having a transmission not set to a park mode, or not having anignition key disengaged therefrom, or not having a park brake activated,or having a wheel rotating, or a drive axle rotating, or any othermechanical way. Likewise, electrically, such determination can be basedon a circuit of the first vehicle being closed, where the circuit beingopen relates to the first vehicle being stationary or vice versa. Forexample, the circuit can be included in an electric motor of the firstvehicle, an internal combustion engine of the first vehicle, a brakingsystem of the first vehicle, a steering system of the first vehicle, anairbag system of the first vehicle, or any other system of the firstvehicle having the circuit. Similarly, digitally, such determination canbe based on a software component, such as a module, an object, alibrary, an application, an operating system, or others, running on theprocessor 104 such that the processor 104 can determine viarequest/response computing or polling a set of components of the firstvehicle, whether hardware or software or a combination of both, that thefirst vehicle is moving.

In the block 504, the first vehicle determines, such as via theprocessor 104, whether the first vehicle is vision-localized to a map,such as via an input received from the camera 112, such as via an imagesensor thereof. For example, as the first vehicle is moving, the camera112 is powered to receive the input, whether still photos or videos,whether in 2D or 3D, depicting various objects, such as landmarks,sculptures, monuments, buildings, other vehicles, pedestrians,parks/nature, stadiums, lampposts, road signs, road corners, driveways,hydrants, overpasses, bridges, lane marks, lane width, lanes shape,manikins, store fronts, parking lots, or other visual reference pointsfor which an exact location is known, such as via longitude, latitude,or altitude. This map pose may be useful in that the map pose may beaccurate due to vision-based localization. The input is sent to theprocessor 104 for comparing, which may be in real-time, the inputagainst a set of imagery containing a set of objects. The set of imagerymay include still photos or videos, whether 2D or 3D, and may be locallystored, such as via the memory 106, or remotely stored, such as via thetransceiver 108 a communicating with the server 114 over the network118. If the processor 104 identifies a visual match, such as via a pixelpattern, between the input and a member of the set of imagery, then theprocessor 104 extracts from the member or queries a data structure, suchas an array, a hash, or others, for a set of coordinates, such as anX-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis, corresponding to the member with respectto positioning on the map, whether the map is 2D, 3D, or any other type.The data structure may be locally stored, such as via the memory 106, orremotely stored, such as via the transceiver 108 a communicating withthe server 114 over the network 118. Once the processor 104 receives theset of coordinates, then the processor 104 may validate the set ofcoordinates against the map to ensure that the set of geographicalcoordinates are present on the map, which may be locally stored, such asvia the memory 106, or remotely stored, such as via the transceiver 108a communicating with the server 114 over the network 118. Suchvalidation can be bolstered via the vehicles also querying the referencestation 116 via the transceiver 108 a or the satellite 126 via thetransceiver 108 b. Note that since the vehicle is moving and theprocessor 104 is comparing the input against the set of imagery, theprocessor 104 may be a multicore processor or be a component in amultiprocessing environment, such as for parallel computing, which maybe distributed, whether locally on the first vehicle, or with othervehicles or computing systems. As such, if the match is identified, thenthe block 506 is performed. Otherwise, if the match is not identified,then the block 508 is performed.

In the block 506, the first vehicle sends, such as via the transceiver108 a, a first map pose and a raw positioning measurement to a server,such as the server 114. For example, the module 124 in FIG. 2b canfacilitate in such sending. The sending can include sending via a wired,waveguide, or wireless manner, such as over the network 118. The firstmap pose is based on the first vehicle being vision-localized to themap, as per the block 504. For example, the processor 104 can generatethe first map pose to include a set of map coordinates locating thefirst vehicle on the map. The raw positioning measurement can be basedon the first vehicle communicating with the reference station 116, suchas via the transceiver 108 a over the network 118, and the satellite126, such as via the transceiver 108 b. For example, the processor 104can generate the raw positioning measurement to include a set of rawpositioning coordinates.

In the block 508, the server sends the first map pose and the rawpositioning measurement to a second vehicle, such as the vehicle 120.The sending can include sending via a wired, waveguide, or wirelessmanner, such as over the network 118. The server may discriminate amongvehicles and send the first map pose and the raw positioning measurementto the second vehicle based on the second vehicle being positionedwithin a particular distance from the first vehicle, as determined viathe server receiving positioning data from first vehicle and the secondvehicle, such as over the network 118. The particular distance may bestatically programmed or dynamically updateable, such as locally basedon a set of criteria or via an downloaded update.

In the block 510, the second vehicle determines, such as via theprocessor 104, a first position vector relative to the first vehiclebased on the first map pose and the raw positioning measurement, asknown to skilled artisans, such as via an RTK technique, such as via themodule 124 of FIG. 2b . This enables the second vehicle to determine anoffset from the member of the set of imagery, such as a landmark or anyother structure for which an exact location is known. For example, eachvehicle, whether the first vehicle or the second vehicle, determines anupdate to its map pose on its own, after that vehicle receives thecollective data about other cars in the area from the server. Forexample, with respect to determining the map pose and the rawpositioning measurement, in order to calculate a relative vector, a pairof respective sets of data from both the first vehicle and secondvehicle is used.

In the block 512, the second vehicle determines, such as via theprocessor 104, a second position vector with respect to a third vehicle,such as based on the third vehicle calculating this vector to the secondvehicle based on receiving a set of data from the second vehicle. Thesecond position vector may be determined based on the first map pose andthe raw positioning measurement, as known to skilled artisans, or in anyother manner, such as via an RTK technique, such as via the module 124of FIG. 2b . For example, the second vehicle receives via the server isthe raw positioning data and the map pose data about other cars in thearea; then the first map pose is updated as a result of being able todetermine the relative position vectors based on the collective positiondata broadcast by the server.

In the block 514, the second vehicle updates, such as via the processor104, the first map pose to form a second map pose based on incorporatingthe second position vector such that the second map pose is moreaccurate than the first map pose. This updating may be in any manner, asknown to skilled artisans, such as via an RTK technique, such as via themodule 124 of FIG. 2 b.

Note that the block 504 can be performed whether the first vehicle ismoving or stationary, i.e., whether or not the first vehicle islocalized to the map can occur whether the first vehicle is moving orstationary. This localization can be determined via a threshold, such asan alphanumeric value, an image, or others, stored in the memory 106.For example, for each vehicle in a plurality of vehicles, once thislocalization is determined based on satisfying the threshold, each ofthe vehicles sends their respective map poses and positioningmeasurements to the server and the server then accumulates thesemeasurements from the vehicles. Once the server accumulates thesemeasurements, the server broadcasts these measurements to a plurality ofvehicles that are close to each other in a given area, whether or notthose vehicles were part of the original plurality of vehicles. Each ofthe vehicles receiving these measurements, then uses these measurementsto compute its relative position relative to all the other cars, andthen uses that single result to update its own map pose. As such, theprocess 500 may not be so sequential as currently shown in FIG. 5 (e.g.car receives positioning info from one other car, then updates its mappose; then receives info from a second car, updates its map pose again).Rather, the vehicle can receive a plurality of measurementssimultaneously and updates its map pose based on all of this collectivedata.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an embodiment using a vehicle as a referencestation according to this disclosure. A method 600 includes a pluralityof blocks 602-610, which are performed via the system 100.

In the block 602, a static vehicle, such as the vehicle 102, receives,such as via the processor 104, a sensor input, such as via the camera112. For example, the sensor input can include an image, whether a stillphoto or a sequence of images constituting a video. The sensor inputcould also be a sensing of a static reference such as known marker theposition of which is known.

In the block 604, the static vehicle confirms, such as via the processor104, a map-referenced position thereof based on the sensor input. Forexample, the processor 104 can process the sensor input, such as via anobject recognition algorithm performed on the sensor input, and identifyan object in the sensor input. Then, the processor 104 may query a datastructure for a positioning dataset corresponding to the object. In someembodiments, the map-referenced position is distinct from a positionbased on a set of positioning signals, such as a set of GNSS signals,which is globally-referenced.

In the block 606, the static vehicle receives, such as via the processor104, a positioning signal, such as via the transceiver 108 b from thesatellite 126. For example, the positioning signal can include aplurality of positioning signals, such as four or more positioningsignals, from a plurality of satellites 126, such as four or moresatellites 126.

In the block 608, the static vehicle generates, such as via theprocessor 104, an offset based on the map-referenced position, asconfirmed per the block 604, and the positional signal, as per the block606. For example, the processor 104 determines the offset based on adifference between a location associated with the positioning datasetand a location associated with the positioning signal.

In the block 610, the static vehicle sends, such as via the processor104, the offset to a device, such as via the transceiver 108 a. Forexample, the offset can be sent over the network 118 to a server, suchas the server 114, or a vehicle, such as the vehicle 120.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthis disclosure may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. A code segment ormachine-executable instructions may represent a procedure, a function, asubprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a softwarepackage, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures,or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another codesegment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information,data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via anysuitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing,network transmission, among others. The computer readable programinstructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on theuser's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments,electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logiccircuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logicarrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions byutilizing state information of the computer readable programinstructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order toperform aspects of this disclosure.

Aspects of this disclosure are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of thedisclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions. The various illustrative logicalblocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connectionwith the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronichardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of this disclosure.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of this disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Words such as “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the orderof the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader throughthe description of the methods. Although process flow diagrams maydescribe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operationscan be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order ofthe operations may be re-arranged. A process may correspond to a method,a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a processcorresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a return ofthe function to the calling function or the main function.

Features or functionality described with respect to certain exemplaryembodiments may be combined and sub-combined in and/or with variousother exemplary embodiments. Also, different aspects and/or elements ofexemplary embodiments, as disclosed herein, may be combined andsub-combined in a similar manner as well. Further, some exemplaryembodiments, whether individually and/or collectively, may be componentsof a larger system, wherein other procedures may take precedence overand/or otherwise modify their application. Additionally, a number ofsteps may be required before, after, and/or concurrently with exemplaryembodiments, as disclosed herein. Note that any and/or all methodsand/or processes, at least as disclosed herein, can be at leastpartially performed via at least one entity or actor in any manner.

The terminology used herein can imply direct or indirect, full orpartial, temporary or permanent, action or inaction. For example, whenan element is referred to as being “on,” “connected” or “coupled” toanother element, then the element can be directly on, connected orcoupled to the other element and/or intervening elements can be present,including indirect and/or direct variants. In contrast, when an elementis referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” toanother element, there are no intervening elements present.

Although the terms first, second, etc. can be used herein to describevarious elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, theseelements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should notnecessarily be limited by such terms. These terms are used todistinguish one element, component, region, layer or section fromanother element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a firstelement, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could betermed a second element, component, region, layer, or section withoutdeparting from the teachings of this disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for describing particular exemplaryembodiments and is not intended to be necessarily limiting of thisdisclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “a” and/or “an”shall mean “one or more,” even though the phrase “one or more” is alsoused herein. The terms “comprises,” “includes” and/or “comprising,”“including” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence and/or addition of one ormore other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof. Furthermore, when this disclosure states hereinthat something is “based on” something else, then such statement refersto a basis which may be based on one or more other things as well. Inother words, unless expressly indicated otherwise, as used herein “basedon” inclusively means “based at least in part on” or “based at leastpartially on.”

As used herein, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or”rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, orclear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of thenatural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; orX employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under anyof the foregoing instances.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Theterms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and should not be interpreted in anidealized and/or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

This detailed description has been presented for various purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be fully exhaustiveand/or limited to this disclosure in various forms disclosed. Manymodifications and variations in techniques and structures will beapparent to skilled artisans, without departing from a scope and spiritof this disclosure as set forth in various claims that follow.Accordingly, such modifications and variations are contemplated as beinga part of this disclosure. A scope of this disclosure is defined byvarious claims, which include known equivalents and unforeseeableequivalents at a time of filing of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of determining the position and pose ofa vehicle, comprising: determining a first raw positioning data of afirst moving vehicular client based on signals from satellites;determining a first pose data of the first moving vehicular client; andsending the first raw positioning data and the first pose data from thefirst moving vehicular client to a second vehicular client such that thesecond vehicular client determines a first position vector relative tothe first moving vehicular client based on the first raw positioningdata and the first pose data.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst pose data comprises a position and orientation of the first movingvehicular client and is determined by capturing images from an imagesensor on the first moving vehicular client.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the captured images are compared to a set of stored images toobtain a set of geographical coordinates indicative of the pose of thefirst moving vehicular client.
 4. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising validating a presence of the set of geographical coordinateson a map.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first pose data includesa set of map coordinates locating the first moving vehicular client onthe map.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a rawpositioning measurement value based on the first raw positioning data.7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first position vectorcomprises performing a real time kinematic technique to determine thefirst position vector.
 8. A system for using a set of vehicles todetermine the position and pose of the vehicles in the set, the systemcomprising: a hardware server configured to: receive a first rawpositioning data and first pose data from a first moving vehicularclient; and send the first raw positioning data and the first pose datafrom the first moving vehicular client to a second vehicular client suchthat the second vehicular client determines a first position vectorrelative to the first moving vehicular client based on the first rawpositioning data and the first pose data, wherein the first rawpositioning data is obtained based on signals from satellites.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the first pose data comprises a position andorientation of the first moving vehicular client and is determined bycapturing images from an image sensor on the first moving vehicularclient.
 10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a first vehicularclient processor configured to compare the captured images to a set ofstored images to obtain a set of geographical coordinates indicative ofthe pose of the first moving vehicular client.
 11. The system of claim10, wherein the first vehicular client processor is further configuredto validate a presence of the set of geographical coordinates on a map.12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first pose data includes a setof map coordinates locating the first moving vehicular client on themap.
 13. The system of claim 8, further comprising a first vehicularclient processor configured to determine a raw positioning measurementvalue based on the first raw positioning data.
 14. The system of claim8, further comprising a first vehicular client processor configured todetermine the first position vector by performing a real time kinematictechnique to determine the first position vector.
 15. An apparatus fordetermining a position and pose of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:a vehicle including a processor and a memory, wherein the processor isin communication with the memory and the memory stores a set ofinstructions that when executed via the processor cause the processorto: vision-localize the vehicle to a map; generate a pose data of thevehicle that is moving based on the map; generate a raw positioningmeasurement value; and send the pose data and the raw positioningmeasurement value to a hardware server, wherein the pose data comprisesa position and orientation of the vehicle that is moving and isdetermined by capturing images from an image sensor on the vehicle whilethe vehicle is moving.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the set ofinstructions further cause the processor to vision-localize the vehicleto a map by comparing the captured images to a set of stored images toobtain a set of geographical coordinates indicative of the pose of thevehicle.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the image sensor is aportion of an analog camera or a digital camera.
 18. The apparatus ofclaim 16, wherein the set of instructions further cause the processor tovalidate a presence of the set of geographical coordinates on the map.19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the pose data based on the mapincludes a set of map coordinates locating the vehicle on the map. 20.The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the set of instructions further causethe processor to determine a raw positioning measurement value based onsignals from satellites.
 21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the setof instructions further cause the processor to send the pose data andthe raw positioning measurement value to the hardware server by using atransceiver connected to a wired or wireless network.